


Left Hand Free

by NikitaHawkeye



Category: Marvel, Naruto
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-22
Updated: 2020-03-22
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:28:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 2,374
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23263228
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NikitaHawkeye/pseuds/NikitaHawkeye
Summary: "Most of the intelligence community doesn't believe he exists; the ones who do call him the Winter Soldier."
Relationships: Haruno Sakura/Uchiha Sasuke
Comments: 3
Kudos: 23





	1. Chapter 1

**i.**

He should have never pulled the thread.

The blond man’s bandaged hand anxiously clutched the manila folder, his fingers slowly wrinkling its edge with the tightness of his grip. His whole expression was frozen, but the fingermarks on the edge of the file betrayed the small tremors that ran through his body. 

Naruto Uzumaki, also known by his super alter-ego, The Captain, had been the hero of his time, the war veteran that brought about the new age. The man was a decorated soldier, and one would think that he operated with cold, militaristic mindset, but Haruno Sakura knew better. 

The Captain ran on emotions. His plans and decisions often involved how he felt, and always wore his heart on his sleeve. He never relinquished the pleasure of feeling every single emotion possible, despite undergoing rigid training that should have desensitized his very soul. To him, it was always personal, and therein lies the problem.

“I saw him die, Sakura.”

Naruto’s watery blue eyes turned to her, and she watched as he launched into a full shellshocked speech. "I saw him die. He was right in front of me. I almost had him.God, I told him not to–“

“Stop chasing the ghost, Captain. You and the Winter Soldier may have a history, but that’s all there is. He was dead the moment Hydra wiped his brain and turned him into this… this…”  _ weapon _ , she wanted to say, but saying that would be like kicking a puppy to the face–

_ (–"Is that all you can do, little pauk?” The man from her memory taunted, and his taunting grin and outstretched metal arm made him look a little humane, very different from the man who was behind the trigger that threatened to blow off her head last week–) _

“He was my closest friend, Sakura. You don’t understand. You’ll never understand.”

_ (—His kisses deepened, and despite the coldness of the water and the heat of his wandering hands, Sakura wondered how something so wrong could feel so right.) _

A grim smile. ”…Maybe.”

_ (Her scream pierced through the walls of the room, and she could not give a damn because they were taking him away, away from her arms and out of her life, forever.  _ The Red Room owns you _ , they said.  _ You will be punished _ , they said. But her broken bones and bleeding gums were nothing compared to the pain of seeing him in a glass tube, like he was some sort of a prized lab rat. His memories of her were being wiped out, and that was it. _

_ History. That is all they will ever have.) _

Naruto must have realized the insinuation of what just came out of his mouth, and was quick to amend it. “Sakura, I’m—”

He was right. She never let anyone in after that.

“No, you’re right. I’m not one to talk.”


	2. Chapter 2

**ii.**

“He’s not gone yet.”

_ Maybe _ , Sakura thought,  _ but he literally just tried to squeeze the life out of you, Cap. _

“Sasuke’s still in there, Sakura. I know.” Naruto pressed, his eyes desperately looking for any signs of confirmation from her. He gripped the white blanket with his bandaged hands when she avoided his gaze. He still looked weary from the bloody fight that ensued in the middle of the highway.

She sighed and uncrossed her arms, choosing to sit on the monoblock chair before her knees gave out. The past seven days have been rather eventful; Kakashi died, she and Naruto went rogue, they were almost blown to smithereens by a drone sent by their own organization, Kakashi lived again, she handcuffed one of the members of the World Security Council to her radiator and disguised as her, had her sternum almost fried, stopped three high-tech drones from eliminating 70% of the population, Naruto almost died… and the Winter Soldier got away.

Again.

The Captain had three extra holes in his body when they pulled him out of the river, courtesy of the assassin, Sakura was sure. She fought with Naruto for years; she knew it was hard to take a shot at him. 

_ So why the hell is Naruto speaking like the man was some sort of fallen angel from heaven? _

“He pulled me out of that river, Sakura.”

This time, Naruto had her full attention. 

It was never her habit to cling to false hope, but it did not stop her heart from hammering. Relief threatened to invade the crevices of her brain, but had to remind herself that this was Naruto speaking. Finally, she spoke, hoping her voice would not give away the turmoil of emotions. “How… how sure are you?”

“It was right before I lost my consciousness, but I know what I saw. He saved me, Sakura. The world may argue the improbability, but I know. Sasuke’s still in there, and he needs my help.”

But Sakura was already out of the door, her heart on her throat, her mind screaming  _ how dare you give up on him  _ as she sprinted to her car.


	3. Chapter 3

**iii.**

an interim

_—A tap at the pane, a quick sharp_

_scratch_

_And blue spurt of a lighted match—_

“Didn’t peg you for a romantic reader, little spider.”

Sakura gasped, her hands shutting the book too quickly. She embraced the arm that snaked around her waist, all the while grinning from ear to ear. “Just practicing my English, _milii moi."_ She turned to face him, and was welcomed with his crooked grin and greased cheek. “You scared me.”

“Your English is already perfect,” Sasuke murmured in her ear, his thumb slowly rubbing circles on her waist, a gesture that made her feel warm all over. “And no, I didn’t.”

She smiled, despite the thumping of her heart, for an entirely different reason. “No, you didn’t.”

The atmosphere was far from romantic; the room was cold, her bunker bed shifts with every tiny movement, her elbow was bent in a sick angle as a form of punishment, he reeked of blood, sweat, and grease, their eyes mirrored death, and and and—

And yet, it was them, and it was enough.

The rubbing on her waist stopped, and she saw his fingers cradle her crooked elbow. He lightly tapped her joint, as if inquiring about it.

“Punishment,” she murmured, intertwining her fingers with his, as if assuring it that no serious harm was done. “Ami got a little too friendly, so I thought, why not return the favor?”

Sasuke chuckled. “I hope you weren’t too hard on her.”

“You wish,” she said, a feral grin on her face, “Madame was not very happy with the mess.”

“Hence the pretzel elbow?”

“Hence the pretzel elbow.”

He reached out and held both her elbow and wrist, and was about to twist it back to its place when she stopped him. “Relax, I’m trying to fix it.”

She shook her head and gripped his hand. “We’re supposed to keep it for a week, Sasuke.”

“You’re going to be sent to a warzone tomorrow, what the fuck is the—”

“That’s the point.”

He let out another curse and exhaled when her deft fingers kneaded the wrinkles on his forehead. “One day I’m going to gut that wretched woman.”

Sakura smiled. “Oh, my plan’s way better,” she replied, her smile growing at the sight of his raised eyebrow.

“One day I’m going to burn this place down.”

_—And a voice less loud, thro_

_its joys and fears,_

_Than the two hearts beating_

_each to each!_


	4. Chapter 4

**iv.**

“You’ll never find him because he does not want to be found.”

It’s probably not the best thing to say to a person who just spent the whole morning chasing a false lead around a muddy pueblo in Huesca, but someone had to tell him. Sakura had been through worse, but that’s not the point. The Captain needed a reality check, and she believed she was the most qualified to do it at the moment.

Naruto visibly deflated. “I know,” he exhaled, ripping the blue helmet off his head. “But that will never stop me from trying, either.”

That conversation was a week ago, but the determination in Naruto’s voice was still heavy in her mind.

_ Who said anything about giving up? _

So Sakura stood in the middle of a crowded airport in Prague, luggage in one hand and fake passport in the other.

One thing that Naruto did not consider was that someone like Uchiha Sasuke would have stood out in Eastern Europe, much more in a small, rural area in it. If the Winter Soldier had a list of places to avoid when there was an international manhunt in one’s name, a small village in Spain would probably be on top of it.

Then again, Naruto’s not really known for his espionage skills.

Tracking a ghost story was far from easy; she tried once, and she ended up with a burnt abdomen and a broken heart. Images of torture devices and cryogen tubes still burnt in her mind, and she sometimes thought that maybe if she was as unyielding as Naruto…

_ Stop. It’s not your fault. _

Apparently, second time’s the charm. Sakura wondered briefly if she should have knocked, but quickly realized the silliness of the idea.

A dilapidated apartment in Kolbenka is not the first place she’d choose as a hideout, but Sakura believed her tastes were more refined than someone who spent most of his years killing and sleeping, so she reserved her right to judge.

The Winter Soldier’s apartment looked like it was about to fall down anytime; wallpapers were torn down, the wooden floor creaked at every careless step, the dirty white ceiling had water stains all over it, junk food wrappers were scattered all over the place, and notebooks and newspaper clippings were everywhere…

…And somehow the place was full of life, almost like the occupant was just discovering how to live.

With an ache in her chest, she picked up a leatherbound notebook and started to leaf through it. More newspaper clippings fell out, but the one that grabbed her attention was Naruto’s picture, wedged between the middle pages. Maybe he did remember him–

–a whisper of movement was caught by her ear, and she quickly turned around to see what it was–

“I know you.”


	5. Chapter 5

**v.**

"Oto. Your hair was shorter. You were wearing a white coat."

Sakura almost spat out the coffee she just took a sip of, and if she were any other person, she would have slammed on the brakes out of sheer panic.

But she was the  _ chornaya vdova,  _ and thus had an image to uphold. She slowly put the cup back down to the holder and calmly replied.

"I'm sorry, what was that?"

Unfortunately, she was sitting beside an equally highly-trained man, and she knew he did not miss the unnatural pitch of her voice and the slight shaking of her hand on the steering wheel. 

He was the  _ zimniy soldat,  _ and like her, he had a street cred to maintain, if he actually cared about that sort of thing. 

Luckily, he did not push the subject, and instead focused on the scenery outside their window. 

_ How did we end up here?  _

Four months ago, they were beating the hell out of each other in his apartment in Prague. She knew he was holding back, and he did not intend for her to come flying across the next building, but the authorities were bound to interpret it very differently. The next thing she knew, their sorry asses were being hauled back to the Avengers HQ, with Naruto welcoming them with the traditional disappointed speech and Kakashi giving them the stinky eye. 

Sasuke did not say a word through the entire ordeal. At least, not to her.

Apparently, Naruto was alerted of the red avenger duking it out with the legendary Winter Soldier in the middle of Kolbenka, and he and Kakashi pulled all the strings and called all the favors to gain custody of Uchiha Sasuke, formerly Howling Commando, war veteran turned war criminal. 

She bets it was a bloody negotiation. She thanks her lucky stars that she did not have to be there.

Perhaps the most unbelievable part of the thing was that Sasuke did not resist any of it. He sat alone in his specialized cell, and he very much looked like a wounded puppy than the ruthless mercenary he was made to be. If he and Naruto patched it up in the middle of his recovery, she did not hold it against them. 

She dropped by to say hi. He looked at her like he was a deer caught in the headlights. 

Awkward encounters and monosyllabic conversations later, here she was, driving them to a rogue Red Room laboratory as part of his first assignment as an Avenger. 

If she had any suspicions of Kakashi knowing about her history with him, then this was the proof she needed to affirm that. She had been cursing him under her breath ever since she opened the dossier of this assignment. If this was him trying to play cupid, then the more he should go screw himself. She truly, sincerely wished for Sasuke's recovery, but she knew this was a terrible idea.

Naruto, on the other hand, seemed to remain oblivious as he doted on them while preparing for the job. Two killing machines or not, they were getting the Captain Pep Talk™ and the nervous fussing. 

She playfully called him Mother. Sasuke remained silent except for the whispered "dobe" under his breath. 

And now she's almost squirming in her seat, because she was so not ready for this conversation. It was the most ridiculous situation she has ever been, so far. 

_ Get a grip. You used to talk about anything. Divert the topic, comment on the weather, ask about his day, compliment his shirt _ –

"I hurt you before. Multiple times. Even before Japan and Prague. That's why you act differently around me, isn't it?" Sasuke asked hoarsely, his full attention back on her in an instant. 

Sakura sighed with resignation. As it turns out, they were indeed having this conversation today, so she parked on the roadside, turned off the engine, then finally looked at him. 

"You could at least try to remember me."

**Author's Note:**

> this is a series of drabbles. sometimes it would stray off the original winter soldier storyline. any mistake is mine alone.


End file.
